Zobrist was a hit-machine on the recent 10-game road trip, batting .429 with six doubles, three home runs, 13 RBIs and four walks.

He had the Rays' lone hit and drove in both runs during Saturday's 3-2 to the Mariners.

He had three hits and three RBIs in Sunday's 8-1 win against the Mariners. It was his fifth three-RBI game this season.

He's had more than one hit in five of his past nine games.

He leads the major leagues with 34 doubles and leads the American League with 53 extra-base hits.

"It feels more like me as a hitter," Zobrist said. "I felt like early this season and a lot last year where I couldn't really get to that point where I feel comfortable like I have been in the last month or so."

Zobrist hit .297 with 27 home runs and 91 RBIs — all career-highs — in 2009.

Last year, bothered by an offseason neck injury that disrupted his mechanics at the plate, Zobrist's production tailed off. He hit just .238 with 10 homers and 75 RBIs.

"I know it bothered him a lot," Maddon said. "He'll never tell you how much. But the way his stance is, he's really got to turn (his neck) into it. He really wasn't comfortable."

Now healthy, Zobrist is hitting.

But it's more than just his ability to return to his old stance. Zobrist is also displaying more patience at the plate. He's stopped chasing pitches out of the strike zone and that willpower forces pitchers to give in to him.

"It feels a lot better than it did earlier in the season," he said. "It still feels somewhat inconsistent from at-bat to at-bat, but that's just these pitchers are good. They're going to keep you off-balance and they're not going to throw the same thing to you, so you just have to make adjustments. I just feel like there are some certain things I've been able to stay consistent with as a hitter while still thinking along with the pitcher and making his adjustments."